Latest news with #EDF
CNA
12 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Czechs sign nuclear power plant deal with KHNP after court injunction lifted
PRAGUE :The Czech state-controlled company EDU II and South Korea's KHNP signed final contracts to build two new nuclear power reactors on Wednesday, Prime Minister Petra Fiala said, after a court lifted an injunction barring the deal's closing. A Czech court gave the green light on Wednesday to the $18 billion deal to build two new nuclear power reactors, cancelling an injunction threatening to derail the transaction. The Supreme Administrative Court's decision, announced on Wednesday, meant the biggest Czech procurement deal ever, and a key part of the country's drive to replace ageing coal and nuclear units, could be signed. France's EDF had challenged the tender and won the injunction from a lower court last month, derailing the signing of the contract that was planned for May 7, with a ceremony prepared and a Korean delegation already en route to Prague. However, the state-controlled company EDU II building the plant and KHNP appealed that ruling. The court said on Wednesday it heeded those complaints and found the injunction issued by a lower court illegal and unverifiable. "By cancelling the preliminary injunction with today's judgment, the court lifted the ban on concluding a contract for the fulfillment of a public contract for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the Dukovany location," the court said. The injunction was a major obstacle threatening the project's timeline amid possibly lengthy court battles and the looming expiration of KHNP's bid. KHNP said in a statement that Wednesday's decision "clears the way for the timely advancement of this strategically important project." Last year, power firm CEZ picked KHNP to build two 1,000-megawatt units to expand its Dukovany nuclear plant, giving KHNP its first project in Europe. EDF has sought to overturn the decision on multiple fronts. The government, which will provide loans and a pricing scheme to make the project profitable, took an 80 per cent stake in the EDU II firm running the project from CEZ in April, with CEZ retaining 20 per cent. CEZ and EDF had no immediate comment on Wednesday's ruling. The lower court which issued the injunction will hold a hearing on the matter of EDF's complaint against the tender itself on June 25. Separately, EDF, the only European company building nuclear plants, sought to cancel KHNP's win through the European Commission on competition grounds, suggesting KHNP's offer was so low that it implied state aid. KHNP has denied any state aid. The Czechs also need to get new EU approval for state loans and an electricity price mechanism for the plant after they expanded the project last year from one reactor - which won EU clearance - to two.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Czechs sign nuclear deal with S.Korea firm KHNP: PM
A Czech state-run company signed Wednesday a deal with South Korea's KHNP to build two nuclear reactors in the EU country after a court dismissed a bid by France's EDF to block the deal. A Czech court had blocked the multi-billion-dollar deal in May after French energy group EDF filed a complaint, questioning the transparency of the tender which it lost. But a higher court threw out the ruling on Wednesday over procedural flaws, enabling the government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to ink the deal. "A while ago we signed an agreement on the supply of two units for the Dukovany nuclear plant," Fiala told reporters. "We did our best to make sure the deal can be signed the instant the legal obstacles are removed," he said. He hailed the signature as a "fundamental step on the way to higher energy security and self-sufficiency". KHNP is due to build the two units at the southern Czech nuclear plant of Dukovany run by the state-run CEZ group. The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.9 million people, relies on nuclear power -- produced by Dukovany and the Temelin plant also in the south -- for 40 percent of its electricity consumption. With the two new units and small modular reactors due to be built by 2050, the share of nuclear energy is expected to rise to 50 percent as the country shifts away from burning fossil fuels. Fiala said earlier KHNP won the tender as its bid was "better in all criteria assessed" than EDF's offer. On Wednesday, he said KHNP has vowed to hand 60 percent of the contract to Czech suppliers. KHNP has offered to build the two new units for around 200 billion Czech koruna ($9 billion) each. Prague expected to finalise the deal with KHNP by March this year, but complaints by EDF delayed the process. CEZ expects construction to begin in 2029 and the first new reactor launched in trial operation in 2036. frj/lth
France 24
13 hours ago
- Business
- France 24
Czechs sign nuclear deal with S.Korea firm KHNP: PM
A Czech court had blocked the multi-billion-dollar deal in May after French energy group EDF filed a complaint, questioning the transparency of the tender which it lost. But a higher court threw out the ruling on Wednesday over procedural flaws, enabling the government of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to ink the deal. "A while ago we signed an agreement on the supply of two units for the Dukovany nuclear plant," Fiala told reporters. "We did our best to make sure the deal can be signed the instant the legal obstacles are removed," he said. He hailed the signature as a "fundamental step on the way to higher energy security and self-sufficiency". KHNP is due to build the two units at the southern Czech nuclear plant of Dukovany run by the state-run CEZ group. The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.9 million people, relies on nuclear power -- produced by Dukovany and the Temelin plant also in the south -- for 40 percent of its electricity consumption. With the two new units and small modular reactors due to be built by 2050, the share of nuclear energy is expected to rise to 50 percent as the country shifts away from burning fossil fuels. Fiala said earlier KHNP won the tender as its bid was "better in all criteria assessed" than EDF's offer. On Wednesday, he said KHNP has vowed to hand 60 percent of the contract to Czech suppliers. KHNP has offered to build the two new units for around 200 billion Czech koruna ($9 billion) each. Prague expected to finalise the deal with KHNP by March this year, but complaints by EDF delayed the process. CEZ expects construction to begin in 2029 and the first new reactor launched in trial operation in 2036.
15 hours ago
- Business
A deal to build nuclear reactors worth $18B unblocked after court clears the way
PRAGUE -- A deal to build at least two nuclear reactors in Czechia was unblocked Wednesday, after an appeals court dismissed on Wednesday a lower court ruling that blocked the government from signing a deal with South Korea's KHNP power utility. The Supreme Administrative Court said that the ruling was not in line with law, meaning the signing of the deal could go ahead. KHNP won a lucrative public tender last year, beating a competing bid by France's EDF. The two new reactors will be built at the existing Dukovany power plant in an effort for the country to wean itself off fossil fuels. The contract between the dominant power company CEZ, where the Czech state has a majority stake, and KHNP was due to be signed on May 7 but EDF lodged a legal challenge at the regional court in the second-largest Czech city of Brno after the Czech anti-monopoly office dismissed its complaint about the tender. The regional court said on May 6 that the deal could not be signed before it rules on the EDF case, because then there would be no way to change it even if the French company won. CEZ and KHNP challenged that. The two new reactors will complement Dukovany's four 510-megawatt units that were completed in the 1980s. The total cost is estimated to be over over 400 billion koruna ($18 billion). The first new reactor is expected to become operational for a trial by 2036, the second about two years later.
San Francisco Chronicle
15 hours ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
A Czech deal to build nuclear reactors worth $18 billion is unblocked after a court clears the way
PRAGUE (AP) — A deal to build at least two nuclear reactors in Czechia was unblocked Wednesday, after an appeals court dismissed on Wednesday a lower court ruling that blocked the government from signing a deal with South Korea's KHNP power utility. The Supreme Administrative Court said that the ruling was not in line with law, meaning the signing of the deal could go ahead. The two new reactors will be built at the existing Dukovany power plant in an effort for the country to wean itself off fossil fuels. The contract between the dominant power company CEZ, where the Czech state has a majority stake, and KHNP was due to be signed on May 7 but EDF lodged a legal challenge at the regional court in the second-largest Czech city of Brno after the Czech anti-monopoly office dismissed its complaint about the tender. The regional court said on May 6 that the deal could not be signed before it rules on the EDF case, because then there would be no way to change it even if the French company won. The two new reactors will complement Dukovany's four 510-megawatt units that were completed in the 1980s. The total cost is estimated to be over over 400 billion koruna ($18 billion). The first new reactor is expected to become operational for a trial by 2036, the second about two years later.
